With the completion of its new factory, a company in the United States is set to become the world's largest solar roofing producer — and it's doing it with nailable solar shingles, as Electrek reported.
GAF Energy recently completed construction on its 450,000-square-foot factory just north of Austin, Texas. The factory will be dedicated to manufacturing nailable solar shingles, making the company the largest solar roofing producer in the world.
The move to become the world's largest solar roofing producer makes sense, given that GAF Energy is a sister company to GAF Roofing, which is the largest roofing materials manufacturer in North America, reported Electrek, and GAF Roofing is owned by Standard Industries, the largest roofing materials manufacturer in the world, per the company website.
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Construction on GAF Energy's first factory in San Jose, California, was completed in 2021. The new factory will increase capacity by 500%, bringing the total annual production of its solar shingles to 300 megawatts, per a company press release.
The second factory was built to meet the growing demand for GAF Energy's Timberline Solar Energy Shingle, which first hit the market in January 2022, according to Electrek.
GAF Energy president Martin DeBono said of the product, "We launched Timberline Solar because we believed that more consumers would choose solar if they had a more reliable, durable, and attractive option. The market has confirmed our belief — now we're turning that belief into reality and building the future of clean energy here in the U.S."
Adding solar power to your home has been proven to save money on energy bills, as well as decrease the amount of dirty energy used to power your home. In recent years, more and more Americans continue to make the move.
According to GAF Energy, the Timberline Solar shingles are comparable in price to rack-mounted solar systems and much cheaper than the Tesla Solar Roof, according to Electrek. The solar shingles are also flexible and smaller than the traditional five-by-three-foot panel, giving the customer more options when it comes to installation, as the company told Electrek.
The shingles are also built to withstand just about anything Mother Nature throws their way. The solar shingles can function in temperatures ranging from negative 40 degrees to 122 degrees Fahrenheit and withstand winds up to 130 miles per hour, per Electrek.
But GAF Energy isn't trying to sell everybody on their solar shingles just yet. The company said in a statement last year, "The most affordable time to go solar is when you're in the market for a new roof, by turning two home improvement projects into one."
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